Method and apparatus for compressing video sequences

• US 6,621,870 B1
• Filed: 08/27/1999
• Issued: 09/16/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: TiVo Corporation (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: DIVA Systems Corporation
• Inventors: Edmonds, Jeremy S., Gordon, Donald F., Bayrakeri, Sadik, Ludvig, Edward A., Comito, John P., Gershtein, Eugene, Wild, Joseph R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Philippe, Gims S.
• Application Number:
  US09/384,394
• Time in Patent Office: 1,481 Days
• Field of Search: 375/240.28, 375/240.12, 375/240.01, 348/423.1, 725/41, 725/42, 725/43, 725/44, 725/54, 725/87, 370/487, 370/510, 713/501
• US Class Current: 375/240.28
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/577 Motion compensation with bidirectional frame interpolation, i.e. using B-pictures
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23424 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for inserting or substituting an advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23608 Remultiplexing multiplex streams, e.g. involving modifying time stamps or remapping the packet identifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23614 Multiplexing of additional data and video streams arrangements for simultaneous broadcast of plural pieces of information H04H20/28
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2365 Multiplexing of several video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4314 for fitting data in a restricted space on the screen, e.g. EPG data in a rectangular grid
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4344 Remultiplexing of multiplex streams, e.g. by modifying time stamps or remapping the packet identifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4347 Demultiplexing of several video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4348 Demultiplexing of additional data and video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44016 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for substituting a video clip
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4821 using a grid, e.g. sorted out by channel and broadcast time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6547 comprising parameters, e.g. for client setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/45 Picture in picture , e.g. displaying simultaneously another television channel in a region of the screen
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/165 : Centralised control of user terminal subsequent to an upstream request signal H04N7/17345; Registering at central by two-way working H04N7/17309

Abstract

A method and apparatus for compressing a plurality of video sequences, where each sequence has information that is common with other video sequences. The invention ensemble encodes the video sequences into an MPEG compliant transport stream using less predicted frame information than separately encoding each video sequence. One illustrative application of the invention is efficiently encoding and transmitting a user interface such as a program guide, interactive program guide, electronic program guide, navigator and the like. The user interface is illustratively embodied in an interactive program guide (IPG).

Claims

1. An encoder apparatus comprising:

a plurality of encoders for encoding a plurality of video sequences having common image frame information and non-common image frame information to produce a plurality of encoded video streams;

a plurality of encoded video stream processors, coupled to the plurality of encoders, for extracting a first portion of each encoded video stream and a second portion of each encoded video stream;

a multiplexer, coupled to said encoded video stream processors, for combining the first portion of one encoded videostream and all the second portions of each encoded video streams;

wherein said first portion represents at least a portion of said common image frame information.

2. The encoder apparatus of claim 1 wherein said second portion represents at least the non-common image frame information between the video sequences.

3. The encoder apparatus of claim 1 wherein said encoded video streams are MPEG compliant elementary streams comprising reference pictures and predicted pictures.

4. The encoder apparatus of claim 3 wherein said first portion comprises said reference pictures and said second portion comprises said predicted pictures.

5. The encoder apparatus of claim 3 wherein said encoded video stream processors comprise:

a plurality of picture isolators for separating reference pictures from predicted pictures;

a plurality of packetizers, coupled to said picture isolators, for packetizing the reference pictures separately from said predicted pictures.

6. The encoder apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

a clock and encoding-profile generator, coupled to said plurality of encoders, for synchronizing the plurality of encoders and for providing a uniform ensemble encoding environment across said plurality of encoders.

7. A method of encoding video sequences, comprising the steps of:

encoding a plurality of video sequences having some common image frame information to produce a plurality of encoded video streams;

extracting a first portion of one of said encoded video streams and a second portion of each encoded video stream; and

combining into a transport stream, said first portion and all the second portions;

wherein

said first portion represents at least a portion of said common image frame information.

8. The encoder apparatus of claim 7 wherein said second portion represents at least the non-common image frame information between the video sequences.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein said encoded video streams are MPEG compliant elementary streams comprising reference pictures and predicted pictures.

10. The encoder apparatus of claim 7 wherein said first portion comprises said reference pictures at said portion comprises said predicted pictures.

11. The method of claim 7 wherein said extracting step comprises the steps of:

separating reference pictures from predicted pictures;

packetizing the reference pictures separately from said predicted pictures that represents the common information.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein said separating step comprises the steps of:

detecting a sequence header or a group start code;

coupling all data from a sequence header or a group start code until the second picture code, to a reference picture output;

conducting a query if non-reference picture data is required;

coupling a second picture start code and all data in a group of pictures (GOP) until a next group start code, to a predicted picture output if the query is answered affirmatively;

discarding the non-reference picture related data if the query is answered negatively.

13. A system for encoding and decoding a plurality of video sequences comprising:

a plurality of encoders for encoding a plurality of video frame sequences having common image frame information and non-common image frame information to produce a plurality of encoded image streams;

a plurality of encoded image stream processors, coupled to the plurality of encoders, for extracting a first portion of each encoded image stream containing predicted pictures between the video frame sequences and a second portion of each encoded image stream containing reference pictures;

a multiplexer, coupled to said encoded stream processors, for combining into a transport stream, said first portion of one of said encoded image streams and all the second portions of the encoded image streams;

a network for carrying said transport stream to a plurality of receivers;

each of said receivers comprising a demodulator having a packet identifier filter for identifying packets having a particular packet identifier and extracting those packets from said transport stream, where a first extracted packet comprises predicted pictures and a second extracted packet comprises a reference picture; and

a decoder for concatenating the extracted packets and decoding the packets to form a video frame sequence.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein said encoded video streams are MPEG compliant elementary streams comprising reference pictures and predicted pictures.

15. The system of claim 13 wherein said encoded video stream processors comprise:

a plurality of picture isolators for separating reference pictures from predicted pictures;

a plurality of packetizers, coupled to said picture isolators, for packetizing the reference pictures separately from said predicted pictures.

16. The system of claim 13 further comprising:

a clock and encoding profile generator, coupled to said encoders, for synchronizing the plurality of encoders and for providing a uniform ensemble encoding environment across a plurality of said encoders.